In this video you’ll hear from Iberostar's business development director - UK, Aishling McLoughlin, and TTG’s content writer Charlotte Cullinan.

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Video transcript 

Charlotte: Hello and welcome to our In The Spotlight video with Iberostar! Ash, it's been a while since our last Spotlight, so what's been keeping you all busy at Iberostar? 

Aishling: Yes, Charlotte, thank you so much for having me. And it’s true, it has been a while since we've had a catch up. We've had lots going on and lots planned for this year as well. Last year, I must say, was a fantastic year of growth in sales and fantastic results via our trade partners. So I just want to start off by saying a huge thank you to them all. And I'm really pleased to say that this year we've got even more hotels joining the portfolio. So even more lovely properties for them to sell. 

Charlotte: Great news. Tell us more about what you've got planned then for this year. 

Aishling: So this summer we're actually opening a brand new hotel, the Iberostar Selection Montenegro. It is a beautiful property in Bar area of Montenegro, which will take us up to four hotels in this destination.

And our new hotel there is not far from Bar Town, which is a gorgeous historic town in this part of Montenegro. The location of the hotel is very special, so it's  built into the hillside, and you're surrounded by lush green landscapes, with direct beach access and beautiful gardens surrounding the property as well.

The hotel  has 292 suites, so it's  an all-suite property. And we have some beautiful villa suites as well, which are leading down to the water. And some of them have their own pools, which will just be amazing.

And apart from all these gorgeous rooms and the beautiful areas there's fantastic facilities in the hotel as well. So we're going to have an amazing spa there. And of course we look after our mini VIPs as well, so we're going to have a fantastic Star Camp Kids Club for them too. So it's great for people of all ages.

Charlotte: Brilliant. Sounds amazing. And Montenegro is really growing in popularity, isn't it? So it's great news you're expanding there. And you mentioned another destination as well? 

Aishling: Yes. Now wait for it… Zanzibar! So we are going to be opening our first hotel in this beautiful East African region and I'm so excited about it. It will be a beautiful beachfront property and it will be part of our premium Selection category of hotels. All the fantastic facilities and services, so it's perfect for anyone looking for that exotic premium, beach holiday experience, something really different. We will have more information on this hotel coming out soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

Charlotte: We will definitely keep an eye out. Thank you. It seems like whenever we record a Spotlight, you have a new hotel or a new destination to talk about. So last year was a busy one, wasn't it? 

Aishling: It was, yeah. We had lots of new openings and renovations going on last year. So I think in our last catch up we talked about Aruba. So we opened our new property there – a new destination for us – in 2024, just at the end of the year. We also opened two new properties in Miami, a new hotel in Mexico, the Iberostar Selection Riviera in Puerto Morales, and our new star in Majorca, the Iberostar Selection Es Trenc, which we opened last summer.

Charlotte: Oh that's right. That hotel is stunning. How has its first year been?  

Aishling: Oh, it's been amazing. The feedback has been fantastic. We've had lots of our travel agent partners stay there last summer as well, and they loved it. It's in a really special location on the island and I think that's one of its USPs really. It's where lots of the locals, the Majorcans, go to holiday themselves because it is so beautiful. It's right on the sea front, close to the town of Colonia de San Jordi, which is a really authentic, historic part of the island. Close by you've got some beautiful beaches and you're surrounded by nature. So it's great for getting out and exploring. 

Charlotte: You mentioned this hotel is a Selection property, and you also have your Waves and JOIA hotel categories too. So could you tell us a little bit more about them? 

Aishling: Sure. Our JOIA hotels are a special collection of luxury, adult-only spa hotels. The best of the best. Our Selection category is our premium collection of hotels and they're offering the top premium services facilities, gastronomy. And then our Waves category is our kind of really fun, approachable collection of hotels, which are great for people of all ages. So we've got some family hotels in this category and also adult-only properties. 

Charlotte: That's great. It makes it so much easier for people to understand what type of hotel it is just by looking at the hotel name. 

Aishling: Exactly. And that's why we did it, for that reason. And it's proven really successful, especially with our travel agent partners, because just by looking at the hotel name, they'll know if it's the right property for their customer.

Charlotte: I can imagine. Perfect. And you have a lot of other systems and support for agents as well, don't you? 

Aishling: We do. I'm sure most of our agent partners out there listening in know about our fantastic Star Agent loyalty programme where we offer up to 50% discount agent rates, and plus you can earn points on all of your bookings made via all channels, so agents can potentially stay in our properties for nothing! 

Charlotte: Wow!

Aishling: Yeah! So get signed up if you're not already. And it's a great way to show our appreciation for our travel agent business and their support. And also for them to experience the hotels themselves and to sell confidently to their customers. We also have, apart from Star Agents, we also have our B2B booking system, Iberostar Pro. So it is where agents can make customer bookings. We offer high commission levels and some great rates on there and offers. So again, I recommend all agents who aren't registered on there to take a look. 

Charlotte: Fantastic. There's always so much going on. I imagine you've also been busy with your Wave of Change initiatives too.

Aishling: We have, absolutely, it's always top priority for us. And 2025 was no exception with lots of progress and milestones reached, continuing to build a tourism model that creates value for people, business and nature, all at the same time.

We've been making great progress, caring for our destinations. For example, the Grange Pen Fish Sanctuary in Jamaica is a great example of this. It's the first of its kind in Jamaica, a protected marine area, created and co-managed by Iberostar, the local fishing community and the government. 

And one thing that's really special about this particular initiative is the leadership role that the local fishermen have. Within the initiative they’re wardens protecting this conservation area. So it's a great example of how the public sector, the private sector and community collaborations can work together and they really are the future. And there's lots of other work going on within the Wave of Change.

So for more updates on this work, we actually have a monthly newsletter called The Positive Change. So our partners can take a look at that. We produce it monthly. They can take a look at that and have a read at what we've been getting up to. 

Charlotte: That's fascinating. Thank you, Ash. I'm sure agents will be really interested in hearing about all the news, so thank you for sharing everything in your new In The Spotlight video.

Aishling: Thanks so much, Charlotte. It's been great to catch up.